Italy Help..
 

Hello.. My fiance and I were thinking of going to Capri - Rome - Florence - Venice for a 2 week (or 10 days) honeymoon. A friend had suggested we stay in Capri for at least one week and then visit the other places before returning home (NY). I am flexible with the amount of days to spend in the different locations, I just don't know enough about each place to make an informed decision.

Also, I'm much more concerned about the logistics and how to go from one place to another. How do we even get to Capri? I was reading a forum that mentioned starting from Salerno instead of Naples because Naples is a little crowded and dicey..?? I just have no clue.

We would be leaving from New York sometime in mid-April.

Any suggestions at all would be so helpful. Thank you.

Is it 10 days or 2 weeks? What are your flight options? Have you scoped out open jaw tickets?
I think maybe you and your fiance should spend some time looking through a guide book--it does not sound as if you know where you want to go or what you want to do. Is a forum poll really the way to find out?--I guess we'll see!

If you have ten days in Italy, and spend a week in Capri, how are you going to see Rome, Florence, and Venice in the other three days?

I would think that with only ten days in Italy, it's not really possible to visit these four places, because their locations are very spread out. I would, for starters, drop either Venice or Capri, as they're very far from each other.

I would think that three nights in Capri would be plenty. Then you could spend four or five nights in Rome and two or three in Florence. The split would depend on your interests.

I would fly into Rome and then head straight to either Florence or Capri. Then, if you've gone first to Florence, head to Capri (or from Capri to Florence.) End your trip in Rome so that you will be there before your flight home.

To get to Capri, take a train to Naples, then a taxi to the dock and a boat to Capri. There are fast trains from Rome to Florence and from Rome to Naples.

If you really must see Venice and can't give up Capri, I would try to get a flight that goes there. Then after two nights in Venice, head to Capri, maybe spending one night in Florence en route. Finish the trip in Rome, as above, and fly home from Rome. (This involves a multi-city airfare.) This option would involve a lot more travel time, which reduces your vacation time.

Going to Salerno to get to Capri is really illogical.

Jenny--

Best wishes for your wedding and honeymoon.

I would get travel guide or two for Italy and read about what there is to do and where there is to go. IMO, you're planning to do too much and as a result you will not have time to really enjoy anything.

Italy is my favorite country and I've been several times. I've only been to Capri once--for a day trip from Sorrento--and have no desire to return. So IMO you may get tired of being on the island after a few days. So make sure that Capri has what you want for a honeymoon. You might think about some of towns along the Amalfi Coast as an alternative to Capri

However, if it were my honeymoon, I'd go to Venice-one of the most romantic places in the world. There is a beach--the Lido-if that's what you're looking for and in April the Lido would probably not be very crowded although it might be cool.

If you still want to spend a week in Capri after reading this, then I'd spend a few days around the Bay of Naples afterwards--maybe basing in Sorrento--and then go to Rome after that.

Do you mean this coming April, 2015, or next year, 2016?

How much time you actually have is very important and if that includes travel time is important. You need to allow a day of travel to get there.

Often, it is an evening flight and you arrive the next morning, and the rest of that day is you will probably have some jet lag. So where ever you visit first, you need to allow an extra day at the beginning just to unwind.

When looking at flights, do not just look at Round Trip, even if it seems cheaper. Often, if you have to return to your arrival city, the cost and time in doing so costs more. Don't look at One Way either. Look at the Multi-city option, landing in one city and out of another. Don't fly into a city that you are not planning to visit just because tickets are cheaper. Your time is too short to waste any on extra travel once your are there. Which cities you choose will depend on your itinerary.

Unless you have a full two weeks, you do not have time for Venice, Rome, Capri.
Personally, I would not spend a week on Capri. While pretty, it is a very small island, and not a good base for any sightseeing. You get to Capri by Ferry from Naples, Sorrento or other places on the AC.

Do you want Italy because of the art, history, scenic landscape, etc? Italy is great for that.
Did you just want a relaxing time together after the wedding? Many places work for that.
Did you want a beach? April in Italy does not work for that.

Have you planned a budget?

If your trip is in eight weeks, you have many decisions to make.

Logistics of traveling within Italy to major cities and towns is easy by train, point to point tickets.
Getting to the coast requires a bit more planning, but not difficult. You can get all the help you need on this forum, so that is the least of your worries.

The major issue you have is deciding where You want to go in the time you have.

I wouldn't want to spend a week on Capri in April. What would you do? It won't be be beach or pool weather. A few days would be plenty. I would rather spend the week on the Amalfi coast than on Capri so you are not so limited in options of things to do. To get anywhere from Capri you have to take a ferry. They don't run that often and not late either (even in mid summer 7pm is about the latest).

If you fly into Naples, you can taxi to the port (or there is a bus from the airport to the port). I would fly home from Rome. Take the train there after Capri.

Ischia might be better than Capri at that time of year. You could enjoy the hot springs.

Capri in April for a week is not a good idea. Check a guidebook and realize there is not much to do there after 2 days. It's an island, and the ferries don't run if the weather is bad. Will you be stuck in Naples when you want to arrive? Worse, what if you can't leave on departure day? Do you want to be stuck on an island known for outdoor activites when it is raining?

Ten days is really eight. Arrival day is for jetlag and getting familiar with the new place. Departure day is not a vacation day. And, when you change cities, you lose at least half a day for check out, travel, check in. Two weeks would be a lot better.

So, here's my suggestion: First choice: Fly into Venice, stay 3 nights or four. Train to Florence, 2 nights, or three. Train to Rome, rest of your time, not less than 4 nights would be my recommendation, and more would be a lot better.

Next choice: Fly into Rome, spend 5 nights or 6, train to Naples, and either stay there or, more likely for a honeymoon, go on to Sorrento or Positano or Amalfi. Base there for relaxation, a daytrip to Capri on a nice day, a daytrip for Pompeii, etc. Fly home from Naples, possibly staying a night or two there at the end of your trip. Or, if you can stand a really long first travel day, fly into Naples and leave via Rome, putting the relaxing days at the beginning.

Allow plenty of time for transfers and remember that Italy runs on Italian time with possible strikes, so be flexible.

For a honeymoon I think an extended stay in Capril might be quite lovely. Many people go to Hawaii or a Caribbean island for a honeymoon, and an Italian island is just a nice, maybe nicer. April in Italy, however, is quite a bit cooler than a tropical island, so if you are thinkng of swimming and pool lounging, then you might end up with weather too chilly.

It really all depends on how much city sightseeing you want to do during your honeymoon and how much you want to just be together on a beautiful island for your honeymoon -- and whether Capri in April is what you expect it to be. You should pick the kind of honeymoon you want.

Capri is primarily a beach resort and April is really too early in the year - hotels may not have pools full yet and the sea may well be too cold. (We have been in mid May and they were opening the pools then.)

Agree you have a too much to do for 10 days - and 2 weeks is doable only if you spend less than a week in Capri (where, frankly I think you would be really bored after 2 or 3 days).

You need to decide how much sightseeing you want to do versus relaxing and if you want to relax at a beach resort when the high temps are in the 60s.